Hi!
Some people may remember me from a few years back when i was mainly gathering information about M.I.J. guitars(mainly on the greco subforum).
I have finally bought my first MIJ guitar!
I've been playing on a (upgraded)$200 ibanez for 5 years now,and this will be my first serious guitar :

This guitar was Plek'ed by Rodney Millar at Frettek in June 2008. Frets are in 100% condition. It weighs right about about nine pounds. I put Gibson Historic Pickup rings on it but I will include the originals. The neck is a medium "C" shape. It has a few nicks and dings but is in very nice shape. I would put this up against any Gibson Historic. Comes with a hardshell Gibson case. Feel free to email with questions.

It was a bit of a impulsive purchase perhaps, but it was hard to pass this up.. Burstbucker pickups and a hardcase aren't cheap as standalone upgrade, plus the guitar itself has a pretty good reputation it seems.

Any professionals here care to give an opinion?
The seller says:

Quote:

the closest thing that you could get to this guitar would be a Historic Reissue Gibson Les Paul but those would set you back $3000 or more.
This guitar is quite honestly the best Les Paul that I have ever played let alone owned.

Hey, I was offered that guitar about 4 months ago. Turned it down for several reasons but I think the price you got it for is pretty decent. I am in the UK, and paying import duty on that sort of price was what put it over the edge for me.
I looks to be in very good shape and I bet it it one hell of player. Enjoy your new toy!

One of my RI's is a plaintop like yours -- 6th pic from the bottom here??

I can't say if that's a good price or not. I got my first one new in 1993 and it's been a few years since I bought my last one. Most of them were about a 1/3 of that though. Be sure to give us your impressions when you get it._________________Innadaze-n-LA!

Congratulations on your purchase! I think that you have done very well. The colour is lovely, it is Fujigen made which are better than Terada ones, and it is the 59R, the best! So your guitar ought to be a magnificent player.

For me the only disadvantage is the change in PU's from the '57 Classics. The orginals are just soo sweet & wonderful and if you have to get a matched set you will pay a high price (alternative you can put a '57 classic plus in the bridge and a standard '57 classic in the neck, that works beautifully as well).

However, I don't have any experience with the burstbuckers, perhaps you will like them alot. But do ask if the guy as the originals still laying about.

Finally, if you want to really get the best out of this guitar, try an aged Faber ABR bridge, Faber Kit and Aluminium tailpiece and you will have a guitar that will be a jewel. It will set you back about 100 euros and a bit but I consider it definitely worth the money. Your instrument deserves it!
Check out http://www.tokaiguitar.de/produkte.php?rubrik=4&rechts=7

If needed, invest in some second hand Gibson Deluxe tuners and use Big Bends Nut Sauce so that you'll have an instrument that stays in tune no matter what. PM me on the tuners because you have to know exactly which ones fit your guitar and which ones don't.

Sorry for dragging on. Your guitar will be great and you'll not regret your purchase!!

I owned one myself, sold it and bought a Tokai '79 LS100 Reborn, also a beautiful instrument but not all that different from my ObG '59R but for much more money!

I've gotten the guitar today!
I'm so happy. This guitar is a huge improvement over my first guitar.
It sounds like something out of a Guns 'n Roses concert, or Led Zeppelin. It makes my other (first) guitar look like a toy,despite all the upgrades it has.
I have played a few gibson standards @ a local shop while waiting for this one, and this one sounds so much better.

Joop, and everyone else thanks for your input.
I will look into the upgrades mentioned as time goes by, sounds like good stuff! thanks!

The burstbucker pickups currently in this guitar sound surprisingly good despite the negative feedback mentioned here,
the original '57 pickups must be pretty amazing.

When the time comes, I'm considering getting those pickups, or perhaps a set of Dry Z pickups (Greco). If the quality gap is large enough.
What do you think? They say Dry Z is the ultimate PAF replica.

Also, this is my first guitar with nitro lacquer. Besides the (i suppose) common knowledge about certain guitar stands being damaging to this laquer I also heard that vinyl/leather guitar straps can damage the laquer. This is something perhaps easier overlooked by most, but perhaps not; so i was wondering what kind of guitar straps/straplocks do you people use for your nitro guitars?

The difference between '57 classics and burstbuckers is small, if you like the burstbuckers I would say just keep them. if you check out RD Pickups P-1's they are very like Dry-Z's but a lot cheaper, even then the differences are subtle.

Looks like you got a fair deal as long as the frets are like new. I bought a '94 OGB Goldtop a few months ago that plays like a dream, but has some serious fretware dimples on the G and B string from fret 1 to 7. It set me back $1200, sounds amazing considering I haven't changed the strings that it came with. It has Classic 57's stock and has a somewhat bright sound.

Which leads to a question for the experts. If I replace the bridge C 57 with a C 57 Plus will it make it a little warmer? A JB I think would be to much, so I'm asking if the plus would be in between? I'm looking for a good overall crunchy sound that's not to bright/ear piercing, but also not to mushy/muddy.

Thanks for any opinions, no intention changing the subject, might help the author too...

The difference between '57 classics and burstbuckers is small, if you like the burstbuckers I would say just keep them.

Yeah, they are both PAF types and the Burstbucker's only difference is that the two colis don't have the same number of turns of wire. This makes them not quite as smooth and a bit more trebly than the Classic 57. Same magnets, and now they're all potted, same as the 57.

There are 3 Burstbuckers and usually they are sold in combinations of BB1 & 2, or BB2 & 3, with the BB3 being a hotter output version. So you might have the hotter combo or the more standard PAF combo._________________Totally biased towards Japanese made guitars.

Which leads to a question for the experts. If I replace the bridge C 57 with a C 57 Plus will it make it a little warmer? A JB I think would be to much, so I'm asking if the plus would be in between? I'm looking for a good overall crunchy sound that's not to bright/ear piercing, but also not to mushy/muddy.

Get some Manlius Fat Dianes if the guitar is bright.
These pickups have a reputation for being slightly darker and smoother than the Classic 57.
I don't know of any others that claim to do what you want, but there will be some. Maybe have a chat with RD Pickups._________________Totally biased towards Japanese made guitars.